Jacksonville, AL – Jacksonville State University will host a public panel discussion in September examining the Declaration of Independence, the development of the American republic and the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The America 250 Panel Discussion is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 15, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Room 1103 AB on the 11th floor of Houston Cole Library. The event is free and open to Jax State students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the public.
Hosted by Jax State’s American Democracy Project and the Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Institute, the program is part of the year-long commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States. It will also serve as the university’s annual Constitution and Citizenship Day program.
Four panelists representing backgrounds in military service, law, higher education, history and civic leadership will participate.
LTC Eddie Walker, Jax State professor of military science, is a senior Army aviator whose military service has included assignments in Georgia, Kentucky, Hawaii, Germany and Jordan, as well as deployments to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. Walker was commissioned as an officer in 2007 while attending Troy University. He holds an MBA from Boise State University and a master’s degree in Military Operational Art and Science from the Air Command and Staff College.
Dr. Diane Best, Jax State associate professor and program chair of Hospitality and Culinary Management, is an Air Force veteran who worked as a paralegal in the Judge Advocate General’s Office. She later spent 20 years working in large corporate law firms as a regional manager before pursuing a career in the hospitality industry. Her experience has included work as an executive chef, catering company owner and food and beverage director. Best joined Jax State in January 2019.
Dr. Steven Brown is a professor of political science and the Morris Savage Endowed Chair at Auburn University. Brown teaches American Constitutional Law and has also taught courses covering religion and politics, law and society, and American government. His research focuses primarily on American legal history and church-state issues. Brown also created “Alabama Justice: The Cases and Faces that Changed a Nation,” a traveling exhibit developed as part of Alabama’s statehood bicentennial that is now on permanent loan at the state judicial building in Montgomery.
Judge W. Keith Watkins, immediate past chair of The American Village in Montevallo, was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama by President George W. Bush in 2005. He became chief district judge in 2011 and served in that role until assuming senior status in 2019. Watkins currently serves on the boards of The American Village and the Rosa Parks Museum and previously served on the boards of the Federal Judges Association and the Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Institute.
Dr. Lori Owens, dean of Jax State’s Honors College and chair of the American Democracy Project Committee, and Thomas Rains, executive director of the Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Institute, will moderate the discussion.
The program will begin with opening statements from the four panelists before moving into a question-and-answer session. Questions submitted in advance will be included, and attendees will also have an opportunity to submit additional questions during the program. Panelists will conclude the event with closing statements.
Students, faculty, staff and community members may submit questions for consideration through the America 250 webpage through Tuesday, Sept. 8.
The event marks the second collaboration between Jax State’s American Democracy Project Committee and the Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Institute. The organizations previously partnered for the Free Speech Forum in 2023.
The program is also an approved Jax MIX Community Engagement event. Students, including those with classes scheduled at 11 a.m., are encouraged and invited to attend.
